A Little Push
by PrincessBellePrinceAdam
Summary: xOOx Ronny and Will decide Mack and Rose need a little push in the right direction. RoseMack, RonnyWill and VellaTyzonn. Valentine's Day twoshot.
1. Chapter 1

**A Little Push**

He watched her giggling with Ronny and as usual, seeing Rose happy made him happy as well. Mack strode into the room, plopping down on the couch opposite from the one the girls were sitting on. Ronny smirked knowingly and casually bumped Rose's shoulder. The former pink ranger blushed and looked away.

"I'll just go…talk to Will about our plans for Valentine's Day," Ronny chirped as she unfolded herself from the orange couch. She flounced across the room, shooting one last grin at her friends before leaving them alone.

Rose shook her head at Ronny's antics before turning back to her abandoned novel. "So what was that all about?" Mack asked when Ronny had gone. He wondered what they'd been talking about before he'd come into the room. Could it have been about him?

She sent him a smile. "Just girl stuff, Mack. You wouldn't want the gory details." Rose gave that little smile again before turning her attention to the book once more. Her eyes focused in on the neat black letters but when she'd read the same sentence three times in a row she gave up.

"Got a date to that ball thing yet?" Mack asked, secretly hoping that Rose's answer would be 'no' so he could ask her to go as his Valentine. He hated the look on her face at his question. "So I'm guessing that's a no?"

Rose nodded and looked away awkwardly. "That's not really my thing, if you hadn't noticed. It's a really stupid holiday if you ask me. I wish your dad hadn't told the mayor we'd be there. It's so much pressure to find someone to go with who doesn't expect more from me than I'm ready to give right now."

Mack nodded. "I know exactly what you mean. Girls come up to me in the streets asking to be my Valentine's date. They don't even know me. I'd much rather go with someone who I know well and who I'd have fun with. Someone like…you." He looked away as her eyes widened.

"Oh Mack," Rose breathed, shocked by this statement. "I would love to go with you, but I-"

"As friends," Mack added quickly. "Nothing more than what you want it to be, Rose. I would never try and pressure you into doing something that you wouldn't want to do." He gave her a nervous smile.

"Sure Mack. We can go together. I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun." Rose tried to return the happy grin as she stood and followed Ronny's path out of the lounge, but as soon as her back was turned to him it slid off her face. Friends. That was all he wanted to be. It was all guys _ever _wanted to be with her.

Mack's blue eyes followed her out of the room. Friends. Of course that was all she wanted to be. He was still thinking about this when Will walked into the lounge. "Ask her yet?" he smirked.

"Yeah," Mack sighed. Will raised an eyebrow.

"Did she say no? You look kinda unhappy for a guy who just asked out the cute girl he's been crushing on for a long time."

"It's not a date. We're just friends." Will winced sympathetically.

"Ouch. Tough luck, Mack. But Ronny seemed so sure that Rose liked you as more than friends," Will mused. "She said you're all Rose talks about when they have their girl time. Maybe…"

"It doesn't matter, Will. Even if Rose isn't into me like that, at least I won't have to watch her spend the Valentine's Ball with someone else. Of course, by next year I'll have to, but that's still a long ways off from now."

"Cheer up, Mack. There's only one pink ranger in history that didn't end up with someone who had been a red ranger at one point, and that was Xander's girl Vida Rocca. Rose will come around. Maybe she just needs a push in your direction."

Mack looked insulted. "You can't force someone to fall in love with you, and you better not try to 'give her a push in my direction.' If something happens, it happens. Don't try to force things on Rose, because she deserves to be happy. And if that's not with me, then what can I do about it?"

"Fight for her," Will stated. "Make her want you."

"Drop it," Mack advised as he too left the room.

--

"He played the friend card?" Ronny asked the former pink ranger, who nodded miserably. "But Will says Mack's had a thing for you since we all met. I wonder why he would play the friend card."

Rose picked up one of the heart shaped pillows on her bed. She buried her face in it. "Maybe Will had his wires crossed and mistook Mack having a thing for me for Mack actually hating me. I bet they're laughing about it right now."

"They're not," Ronny said quickly. "They're not like that, Rose, and you know that as well as I do. Now, maybe he loves you like you love him-"

"I _never_ said that I love him, Ronny," Rose said, her voice growing shrill and her cheeks blushing red. "I don't know where you even got that idea. It's crazy. I like him, but I most certainly do not love him and I-"

"What's the first thing you do when you get up in the morning?"

Rose blushed the precise shade of red as Mack's ranger uniform. "Check my email and my phone to see if he sent me a message." Ronny smirked. Rose had nothing to do but admit defeat. "Ronny, I know you're planning something. Just let me do things my way."

"Yeah, because you really will do something about it. I'm helping you out here, Rose. I demand that you let me push him right where he belongs – you. I want you two to stop pining for each other so the rest of us can have a nice afternoon and not have to bet on how long it's going to take for our red and pink rangers to wake up and smell the coffee."

"You guys have bets?" Rose squawked indignantly. "Because it's not anyone's business but mine and his - if, of course, he has feelings for me that aren't platonic."

"Which he does," Ronny insisted. "Here's what we'll do. First of all, on Valentine's Day, me and you and Vella are going to get ourselves so gorgeous that Will, Mack and Tyzonn aren't going to know what to do with themselves. Then as the evening goes on, I drop a few hints just so you're on his mind. By the time we get home your name will practically be Hartford." Ronny looked hopeful. "You know that's what you want."

It _was_ what Rose wanted. "Don't do anything too embarrassing," she implored her friend before burying her face in the pillow once more.


	2. Chapter 2

**A Little Push**

"That's it. That's the dress you're getting, Rose. It's perfect." Ronny grinned at her friend and then gestured to Vella to come closer. "Vella, tell Rose how beautiful she's going to look in this."

The slender blond came over to where the Overdrive girls were standing. "It's a very pretty gown, Rose," Vella said in her soft voice. "I think Mack would definitely notice you in that." Ronny beamed at the Mercurian. Rose groaned, knowing that there was no way she'd get out of the store without buying the dress.

The pink ranger held out the dress, examining it for a second time. It _was_ very pretty, she had to admit, and it would probably look nice on her. "It's kind of expensive."

Ronny snorted. "You're just being a little kid, Rose. Stop being so afraid of everything and live a little. Yeah, it's a bit of a splurge, but isn't it going to be oh so worth it when Mack realizes how utterly gorgeous his 'just friend' is?"

Rose smiled slightly. "OK, I guess I'll get it, then. But can we please get out of here soon? My feet are killing me and I'm starving."

"Which is code for 'I want to go be a nerd and talk about books with my man,'" Ronny teased. "Rose, we still need to buy accessories to go with our dressed. Don't be such a spoilsport. It's not going to kill you to spend another half hour with your bestest girlfriends."

--

"Why do the girls always take so long to get ready?" Will grumbled. He, Mack and Tyzonn were at the bottom of the staircase waiting for their respective ladies to make an appearance.

"Calm down, Will," Ronny scolded as she came down the stairs. "Aren't we worth the wait?" As she reached the bottom of the staircase, she hugged her boyfriend before pulling back and planting a kiss on his lips.

"You look amazing," Will breathed as he lifted his arm and twirled Ronny around. The former yellow ranger was wearing a short black velvet dress that hugged itself to her curves and showed them off quite nicely. Her hair was up in a high ponytail and a small golden 'R' dangled from a thin golden chain around her neck.

"Why thank you," Ronny replied with a big grin.

Vella was descending now, her eyes focused on Tyzonn. "Happy Valentine's Day," she murmured to her fiancé. "How do I look? Ronny said it was 'sexy.'" She looked at Tyzonn nervously, who smiled.

The Mercurian female was wearing a pearl gray dress made of soft satin. Vella's platinum blond hair was down, barely brushing her shoulders. Her neck was bare, but she had a silver bracelet around her wrist. "You look lovely."

"Wait til you see Rose," Ronny said. "She actually let me and Vella fix her hair and do her make-up and I mean, wow. She just looks so, so pretty, Mack, and she did it just for you."

Mack's heart skipped several beats as Rose came down the stairs slowly. Her inky black hair had been twisted up into an elegant bun, with a few wispy sections framing her face. There was mascara on her eyelashes – something Mack had never seen her wear. She was also wearing bright pink lipstick.

And the dress – Ronny was right, Rose did look gorgeous. The pink ranger's gown for the evening was bright red with a V shaped neckline that gave off just a hint of cleavage. The hem swished around her knees as she joined her friends. "Do I really look alright?"

"Tell her, Mack," Ronny said pointedly. Mack looked sheepish and sputtered for words for a moment. "Mack," Ronny said again. Will looked at his girlfriend quizzically, but she did not notice this.

"It's OK, Mack," Rose said quietly. "Some people just don't know when to drop thins." She glanced at Ronny, who folded her arms over her chest, looking pouty. "Let's just go to dinner."

"That sounds good," Vella said brightly as Tyzonn helped her put on her coat. "I love the variety of choices there are on Earth. It's so refreshing to have options."

The Mercurian couple headed outside, followed by Ronny and Will. Mack held out Rose's coat and she took it. "She was right. You look very pretty, Rose. I just didn't know how to say it, especially-"

Rose grinned. "They're very fond of meddling, aren't they?" she questioned as she slipped her coat on over her exposed shoulders. "And thanks, Mack. It means a lot."

The others were chatting loudly when the former red and pink rangers got to the car. They sat side by side in a comfortable silence as Will drove the six friends to the hotel where the Valentine's Ball was going to take place. As the teenagers entered the hotel, Mack held the door for Rose.

"You know, Rose, Mack's such a thoughtful guy," Will said loudly to the pink ranger. Mack flushed at his friend's antics. Couldn't he just let them be?

"And Mack, you and Rose must be so comfortable with each other if you can go out and ignore all the rumors that must be starting right now," Ronny said. Mack and Rose shared an awkward glance. The Mercurians looked confused.

"Shut up, Ronny," Rose said through clenched teeth. "Just shut up now and I won't have to kill you."

Ronny rolled her eyes as the Overdrive rangers found the table they'd been assigned to sit at. Mack and Rose, sitting across from each other at the end of the table, promptly started a discussion about a novel they'd both read recently. Ronny looked triumphant. At a lull in her and the others' conversation, the yellow ranger looked at Mack and Rose and smiled. "Wow, you two have so much in common."

"Let's dance." The other five teens looked at Rose in shock. It was the most un-Rose like suggestion any of them had ever heard her make. Ronny applauded.

"I knew I could get you two together-"

Mack stood up from the table and led Rose away. In the middle of the dance floor he brought her close to him, the arm around her waist holding her tightly. "What's going on, Rose?" he asked her softly as they swayed back and forth.

"Ronny thinks you need a push towards me. That's why she's been so obnoxious tonight."

Mack smiled down at the pink ranger. "Will thinks _you _need a push towards _me._ Can't they ever let people live their own lives?" The hand resting on Rose's hip squeezed slightly. "So you don't want to be 'just friends?'" There was hope in his voice.

"Of course not." Rose buried her face in his chest. "Why do you think I let Ronny and Vella give me a makeover? I kinda wanted you to notice me, shallow as it is."

"How could I not notice the most beautiful, intelligent woman I've ever known? I love you, Rose."

She beamed up at him with the same love in her eyes. "I love you too, Mack."

And as the other two couples danced by the kissing red and pink rangers, Ronny smirked. "I knew all they needed was a little push."


End file.
